KOLMANSKOP, NAMIB DESERT (IMAGE)

 In 1908, a railroad worker found a glittering diamond sitting on top of sand. The Germans came to get rich quick which is why the Kolmanskop (Kolmannskuppe) village has such a German-influenced architectural style. As you can see, the houses in Kolmanskop are derelict and appear to be sinking in the hot desert sand.

 (Afrikaans for Coleman’s hill, German: Kolmannskuppe) is a ghost town in the Namib desert in southern Namibia, a few kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. It was named after a transport driver named Johnny Coleman who, during a sand storm, abandoned his ox wagon on a small incline opposite the settlement. Once a small but very rich mining village, it is now a popular tourist destination run by the joint firm NamDeb (Namibia-De Beers).